The Idiocy Of Wanton Kleptomania

By IreneausChongwain Chia

The multiplicity of anti-corruption structures in Cameroon seems not to be dissuasive enough as the corruption hydra continues growing its ugly head in Cameroon’s corruption propitious environment. The latest scandal, which has gone viral, is the near paradisiac home of a top government functionary in Yaoundé, who, it is suspected, must have used his position in the Ministry of Finance; though he refutes such claims, to amass stupendous wealth for himself.

This would definitely not have raised any eyebrows or gone completely unnoticed; despite the multiplicity and even presence of anti-corruption units in the Ministry of Finance, had a shocked nosy viewer not posted pictures of the luxurious home being constructed in Yaoundé by the top government functionary mentioned above. And accept it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as similar and maybe planned bigger structures either lie scattered like autumn leaves across Cameroon or could soon come sprouting.

The expense and estimated sums that this luxurious home may already and is still to swallow; and in a country where teachers who have graduated from teachers’ training colleges across Cameroon, have gone for close to five years without salaries, is simply inexplicable just as it exposes the inefficacies of Cameroon’s much-flaunted anti- corruption war, for the more noise is made about Cameroon’s determination to kill the corruption hydra, the more evidence emerges of its propitiousness. And as the anti-corruption commission dog barks, the corrupt-officials-filled train moves on unperturbed. This is disquieting!

Explanations from the above-mentioned individual that his wealth comes from lucrative business deals in the agricultural domain, only makes a sufficiently disturbing situation worse, for civil servants in Cameroon are not allowed to do business, perhaps, and as evidenced by the case in point, they could use their office to enhance their businesses. The gravity lies not only in the magnitude of the “Sambas” spread out across Cameroon, but in the paradox of fighting an institutionalised practice as Cameroon’s National School of Administration and Magistracy, better known by its French acronym, ENAM, has become a veritable corrupt officials churning machinery, as candidates spend a fortune to be admitted, and in turn siphon truckloads of Cameroon’s resources when they start working.

That the massive arrests and imprisonment of some government functionaries for embezzling public funds has not stopped others from provokingly flaunting their often ill-acquired wealth, reveals a wider systemic failure and a culpable docility on the part of the government and Cameroonians. A social media comment on the ignominy of the Samba paradise; and by extension, corruption, describes corruption in Cameroon as a cancer, “I repeat that even the President of Cameroon,” a literally revered personality, “does not have such a private residence. When a priest is better dressed than the Pope, then there is a problem,” the person concludes.

And this is the crux of the matter. Despite the noise and arrest of corrupt officials in Cameroon, many more continue choosing the same leprous path, engaging in ostensibly provocative acts; for even though the celebration of the first ill-gotten milliard is no longer in vogue in Cameroon today as it was in the past for fear of being whisked away and detained, wealth, like pregnancy, cannot be hidden from public scrutiny. And since the thing that kills a man almost always increases his appetite, ill-gotten wealth grabbers inadvertently give themselves away through their lifestyles and projects.

While there is an erroneous perception in Cameroon that one can only become wealthy through embezzlement, racketeering and engaging in criminal and unorthodox practices; for many have become billionaires today in Cameroon through hard work, some wealth is just so insulting that even if the anti-corruption commission, CONAC, were to fail to act, a Parliamentary inquiry would become indispensable, for as one shocked viewer commented about the Samba Yaoundé Saudi-prince-compared residence, “As long as the fight against corruption does not actually become a culture in Cameroon, it will only remain a thing for others.” It is time to stop the haemorrhaging and deceptive merry-go-round in the name of fighting corruption.